Summary:
When God saves you, He removes the darkness from your eyes and gives you a new life to live. In this passage, Paul turns all of his profound theology into practical application. He first addresses the past of every human being, including himself, of being in darkness and ignorance. He lists many of the things that blind us to the Truths of God in order to encourage us to shed them off; to let God work on our hard hearts and set us free. He calls us to ‘put on the new self’ and live as children of the light, according to God’s plan for us. This is not a religious, legalistic command, it will not make God love you any more, but it is an encouragement to lead a life that will be most satisfying and true to the new nature He has given us. To get this long-lasting change we need to eagerly give up the old ways of life and take up the new, better ones.